Posto diye Macher Jhuri / Bengali Crumbled Fish Curry with Poppy Seeds Paste

I was actually trying to cook a fish curry with poppy seeds and in the middle of frying the fishes, 2 of fishes broke miserably. To rescue myself from that situation I mashed up all the fishes and made “macher jhuri” / crumbled fish with poppy seeds paste. Macher Jhuri calls for crumbled fish and poppy seeds go with almost every other Bengali recipe you can think of. If you are not comfortable with crumbled fish, then just go with the whole fishes. In that case do not dry out the curry, and the taste will remain the same.

Step by step Process:

Heat oil and temper with kalo jeera / nigella seeds. Saute for a minute and then add the chopped onions to them.

Fry the onions until they become reddish.

Add ginger paste and chopped tomato. Cook until the tomatoes become mushy.

Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

Cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the prepared poppy seeds paste. Cook for 5 minutes or until the raw smell of poppy seeds are gone. Add water if the mixture turns dry.

Add the mashed fish, salt and cook until the oil separates. Finish off with chopped coriander leaves.

Posto diye Macher Jhuri

Serves 5

Ingredients:

5 pieces of fish

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 onion – finely chopped

1 tomato – chopped

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 inch ginger – paste

2 green chillies – finely chopped

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

¼ cup of mustard oil

Method:

Rub 1 tsp turmeric powder and some salt over the pieces of fish and keep aside.

Grind the poppy seeds along with the green chillies, some mustard oil and water. Grind them until you have a smooth non-grainy paste. Do check by pressing a little paste between your thumb and index finger for the right consistency and texture.

Heat the oil in a kadai and shallow fry the pieces of fish in small batches till they are crisp and golden from outside. It’s okay if one or two breaks during the process, they will eventually be mashed up.

Once the fishes are done, take them out of the kadai and keep aside.

Temper the rest of the oil with kalojeera or nigella seeds and when they start to sizzle add the chopped onions to them.

Sprinkle some salt over them and cook until the onions become nicely red.

Add the ginger paste to it and mix them well.

Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook the tomatoes until they are all mushy and the oil has started to separate.

Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder and cook for another 2 minutes.

Now add the prepared poppy seeds paste. Mix them well and stir the curry continuously until you see the curry become dry and the oil separating at the edges.

Now add ½ cup of water to the curry and put cover.

Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the curry thickens.

In the meantime mash the fishes well with the back of a spoon or using a masher.Pick out the strong and big bones from them. The smaller ones will soften during the course of the cooking.

Mix the mashed fish with the curry and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes on medium to low flame.

Stir often so that nothing can stick to the bottom of the pan.

When you see the fishes have become dry and the raw smell of the poppy seeds are gone, switch off the flame.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves over the curry and serve hot with some rice and dal.